WORLD PREMIERE OF STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW

A NEW STORY LIVE ON STAGE TO OPEN IN LONDON'S WEST END, 2023

DETAILS OF PRIORITY ACCESS TO TICKETS ANNOUNCED TODAY

Based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Kate Trefry, STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW, a new play written by Kate Trefry, will receive its world premiere in late 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End, directed by Stephen Daldry with co-direction by Justin Martin.

Produced by Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions, the play will go on sale this spring, details of which will be announced later this month. The Duffer Brothers act as creative producers, with 21 Laps as associate producer.

Priority access to tickets will be given to fans who register from today at: strangerthingsonstage.com

This new play by Kate Trefry, a writer and co-executive producer for the TV series of Stranger Things, will be rooted in the mythology and world of the Netflix global phenomenon.

Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper's car won't start, Bob Newby's sister won't take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn't so easy... and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.

Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story - and may hold the key to the end.

Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things debuted on Netflix on 15 July 2016. Its fourth season (released in 2022) tops the Netflix Most Popular English TV list at #1 with 1.35 billion hours viewed; the third season released in 2019 still holds at #6 with 582.1 million hours viewed. The series has garnered over 70 awards worldwide including Emmys and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and has been nominated for over 230 awards. Recently Stranger Things completed its record-breaking fourth season to huge acclaim, becoming the biggest premiere weekend ever for an English-language TV show on Netflix.

Matt and Ross Duffer said: "We are beyond excited about Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Collaborating with the brilliant Stephen Daldry has been nothing short of inspiring, and Kate Trefry has written a play that is at turns surprising, scary, and heartfelt. You will meet endearing new characters, as well as very familiar ones, on a journey into the past that sets the groundwork for the future of Stranger Things. We're dying to tell you more about the story but won't - it's more fun to discover it for yourself. Can't wait to see you nerds in London!"

Sonia Friedman said: "The world and mythology of Stranger Things has enabled a rich and fertile ground for creating an incredible story for the stage. The Duffer Brothers have built a huge global following for good reason, and a world-class creative team has built on their boundless imagination to dream up an unbelievably exciting theatrical event for our audiences. Set within the canon of Stranger Things, this new play opens in London, with the West End hosting the only place in the world to experience this new story - for now. I'm thrilled to reunite with my visionary long-term collaborator Stephen Daldry. Together, with our brilliant Netflix partners, we can't wait to welcome Stranger Things fans into theatre, and theatregoers into the realm of Stranger Things."

Greg Lombardo, VP Live Experiences for Netflix said, "Stranger Things has captured the imagination of fans around the world and we are incredibly thrilled to expand this exciting universe with Netflix's first live stage production. With the creative talents of Matt and Ross Duffer combined with Sonia Friedman and Stephen Daldry, theatregoers will be swept up in a truly epic event worthy of Stranger Things."

STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW will be directed by Stephen Daldry with co-director Justin Martin, set design by Miriam Buether, costume design by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, lighting design by Jon Clark, sound design by Paul Arditti, illusions design by Jamie Harrison & Chris Fisher, video design by 59 Productions, movement direction by Coral Messam, wigs, hair and make-up design by Campbell Young Associates, casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG, international casting consultancy by Jim Carnahan, Gary Beestone for Gary Beestone Associates is Technical Director, with further creative team members to be announced.

Further ticket information, on-sale details, performance schedule, full creative team and casting to be announced at a later date.

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Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions present

STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW

By Kate Trefry

Original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne & Kate Trefry

Based on the Netflix Series, Stranger Things, created by the Duffer Brothers

Director: Stephen Daldry; Creative Producers: The Duffer Brothers; Co-Director: Justin Martin;

Set designer: Miriam Buether; Costume designer: Brigitte Reiffenstuel; Lighting designer: Jon Clark; Sound designer: Paul Arditti; Illusions designers: Jamie Harrison & Chris Fisher;

Video designer: 59 Productions; Movement director: Coral Messam; Wigs, Hair and Make-Up designer: Campbell Young Associates; Casting director: Charlotte Sutton CDG; International casting consultant: Jim Carnahan; Associate Producers: Shawn Levy & Dan Cohen for 21 Laps.

The Duffer Brothers broke out onto the scene in late 2011 when, fresh out of college, they had multiple movie studios vying for their horror-thriller spec script Hidden, which landed at Warner Bros. The Duffers directed the film, which starred Alexander Skarsgård and Andrea Riseborough and was released in 2015. Shortly afterwards, they wrote and were executive producers on M. Night Shyamalan's hit television show Wayward Pines. The Duffer Brothers then created the worldwide phenomenon Stranger Things for Netflix in 2016 starring Winona Ryder and David Harbour. The fourth season of the series, which they wrote, directed, and executive produced, became the most viewed season of English-language TV in a single week on Netflix with 335.01 million hours viewed in its first seven days. In 2022, The Duffer Brothers announced the launch of their production company Upside Down Pictures. The company has multiple projects in development including an all-new live-action television adaptation of the renowned Japanese manga and anime series Death Note; an original series from creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews; a series adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub's The Talisman alongside Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Paramount Television; and a live-action Stranger Things spin-off series based on an original idea.

Kate Trefry is a writer and Co-Executive Producer on Stranger Things. She has had two Black List scripts: Pure O, currently being adapted as a series for Netflix, and Revolver, with Maya and Ethan Hawke attached to star and Andrew Stanton directing. She also wrote the final installment of Fear Street: 1666 for the R.L. Stine trilogy. Her directorial debut short How To Be Alone starred Maika Monroe and Joe Keery and premiered at SXSW.

Jack Thorne's plays include After Life (National Theatre), A Christmas Carol (The Old Vic/ Broadway/The Old Vic: In Camera), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (West End/Broadway /international), Sunday (Atlantic Theatre), The End of History, Hope (Royal Court Theatre), King Kong (Broadway), Woyzeck (The Old Vic), Mydidae (Soho/West End), Stacy (Tron/Arcola/West End), Let the Right One In (West End/Dundee Rep/Royal Court Theatre), Junkyard (UK tour), The Solid Life of Sugar Water (Graeae/National Theatre/UK tour), Bunny (Nabokov/UK tour/New York), and Stuart: A Life Backwards (Sheffield Crucible/UK tour). His television includes Help, Then Barbara Met Alan, CripTales, The Eddy, The Accident, His Dark Materials, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, Kiri, National Treasure, The Last Panthers, Don't Take My Baby, This Is England, The Fades, Glue, Cast Offs. Film includes: The Swimmers, Enola Holmes, The Secret Garden, The Aeronauts, Dirt Music, Radioactive, Wonder, War Book, A Long Way Down, and The Scouting Book for Boys. His work for television has won him five BAFTAs and an RTS Television Award. In 2022 Jack was the recipient of both the Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing, and the Royal Television Society's award for Outstanding Contribution to British Television. He is a patron of Graeae Theatre Company, an associate artist of the Old Vic Theatre, and launched the pressure group Underlying Health Condition to champion disabled representation in the TV industry.

Stephen Daldry started his career at the Sheffield Crucible and directed extensively in Britain's regional theatres. In London, he was Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre where he headed a £26 million redevelopment. He has also directed at the National Theatre, the Public Theatre in New York, and transferred many productions both to Broadway and the West End. His award-winning 1992 National Theatre production of An Inspector Calls is currently touring the UK. Billy Elliot the Musical has previously played in the West End, on Broadway, Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), North America, Toronto, The Netherlands, UK & Ireland Tours, Hamburg, Tokyo, and Seoul. In 2009, the production won 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical, more than any other British show in Broadway history. Stephen directed productions of The Audience and Skylight, both of which were highly acclaimed and went on to win major theatre awards, completing sell-out runs in London and on Broadway. In 2017, Stephen directed The Jungle at the Young Vic, an intimate immersive theatrical experience about the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe. The Jungle transferred to the West End in June 2018 and has since completed well-received productions in San Francisco & New York. It returns to New York's St. Ann's Warehouse in early 2023. In 2018, Stephen directed The Inheritance, Matthew Lopez's epic two-part play, which followed its sold out run at the Young Vic by transferring to the West End. Stephen won the 2019 Best Director Olivier Award for The Inheritance. The production moved to Broadway in 2019 and Stephen won a Tony for Best Direction of a Play in 2021. His first four films Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close collectively received 19 Academy Award(R) nominations and two wins. His most recent film, Together, for the BBC and set during the Covid-19 Pandemic, won Best Single Drama at the 2022 TV BAFTAs. He has previously directed for BBC Radio and Television and is Director and Executive Producer on the Netflix series The Crown, winner of 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, written by Peter Morgan. The sixth and final season is currently in production with Stephen returning to direct the final episode. He is an Artistic Director of the Pier 55 performance park Little Island in New York, as well as sitting on the Board for the new Perlman Arts Center. He was Creative Executive Producer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He is Chairman of a refugee arts charity Good Chance, producers of The Jungle. His latest production with Good Chance, The Walk, saw a 10ft tall puppet of a Syrian refugee girl, Little Amal, walk from Turkey to Glasgow in 2021.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

· Stranger Things Season 4 is #1 on Netflix's (all-time) Most Popular English TV List with an astounding 1.35 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days. It was the second title in Netflix history to cross the billion hour viewing mark.

· The series reached the Top 10 in 93 countries and stayed on the list for 19 weeks.

· The third season released in 2019 still holds at #6 on the Most Popular English TV list.

· Stranger Things Season 4 catapulted Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill to number one on Billboard's Global charts for the first time ever, 37 years after it was first released.

NETFLIX

Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services with 231 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

SONIA FRIEDMAN PRODUCTIONS

Sonia Friedman Productions (SFP) is an international production company responsible for some of the most successful theatre productions around the world.

Since 1990, SFP has developed, initiated, and produced over 185 new productions and together the company has won 58 Olivier Awards, 34 Tonys and 3 BAFTAs.

21 LAPS

Shawn Levy's 21 Laps is one of the most prolific production companies of the past decade. Their projects have consistently garnered massive worldwide success, including the multi-Oscar-nominated Arrival and the award-winning Netflix series Stranger Things. The fourth season of Stranger Things which aired in 2022, broke records as Netflix's most popular English-language TV show and was 2022's Most Streamed series. 21 Laps also produced Netflix's Most Streamed Movie of 2022, The Adam Project, which Levy also directed. 21 Laps released their hit action-comedy Free Guy in August of 2021, which was the most successful original film of that year.

21 Laps Entertainment is currently in post-production on the Netflix limited series All The Light We Cannot See, which Levy directed, based on the Bestselling Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and starring Hugh Laurie and Mark Ruffalo. Upcoming projects from 21 Laps include Stephen King's The Boogeyman, as well as Crater on Disney+. Current 21 Laps productions range from the Lionsgate feature film Never Let Go, starring Halle Berry and the upcoming new Deadpool movie, starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Emma Corrin and which Levy is also directing.